I'm not a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but how can I not give the Steelers a five-star rating on Yelp?…read moreThe Steelers are tied with the AFC-rival New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl championships in NFL history. Both franchises have six Super Bowl titles. That's remarkable.
Something else that's remarkable about the Steelers is the team has only had three head coaches since 1969: Chuck Noll (1969-1991, 23 seasons), Bill Cowher (1992-2006, 15 seasons), and Mike Tomlin (2007-present, 15 seasons through the 2021 season). Noll was responsible for Pittsburgh's first four Super Bowl championships in 1975, 1976, 1979, and 1980 (four championships in six years). Cowher was responsible for Super Bowl win #5 in 2006 and Tomlin was responsible for Super Bowl win #6 three years later in 2009.
While Noll coached the Steelers during the early part of my lifetime, my memories of the Steelers are from the Cowher and Tomlin eras. Both Cowher and Tomlin have coached the Steelers for exactly 15 seasons now, so I think it's interesting to compare their careers.
In 15 seasons, Cowher led the Steelers to 10 playoff appearances including two Super Bowl appearances: XXX in 1996 and XL in 2006. He spent his entire NFL head coaching career in Pittsburgh, compiling a record of 149-90-1 (.623) in the regular season and 12-9 (.571) in the postseason. In 15 seasons, Mike Tomlin also led the Steelers to 10 playoff appearances including two Super Bowl appearances: XLIII in 2009 and XLV in 2011. Like Cowher, Tomlin has also spent his entire NFL head coaching career in Pittsburgh, compiling a record of 154-85-2 (.643) in the regular season and 8-9 (.471) in the postseason. From this perspective, Cowher and Tomlin have had very similar levels of success over the same amount of time.
Three players stick out in my mind when I think of the Steelers: Jerome Bettis, Hines Ward, and Ben Roethlisberger. Bettis played most of his pro career for Pittsburgh, 10 seasons (1996-2005). He ended his Hall-of-Fame career on a high note, winning Super Bowl XL. "The Bus" played college football at Notre Dame. In 2014, I got to meet him at a Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame men's basketball game in Atlanta. He was just as nice in person as he was on TV.
Hines Ward played his entire 14-year NFL career with the Steelers (1998-2011). He won two Super Bowls and was named MVP of Super Bowl XL. Ward grew up in the Atlanta area and played college football at my alma mater's rival, Georgia. Ward was drafted by Pittsburgh in 1998.
Of course, all football fans know who Ben Roethlisberger is. After a successful junior year at Miami of Ohio (13-1 final record, No. 15 final AP ranking in 2003), the Steelers drafted Roethlisberger in 2004. "Big Ben" played 18 seasons for Pittsburgh. Those 18 seasons included 12 playoff appearances and three Super Bowl appearances (with the two Super Bowl titles, of course). Earlier this year (2022), I watched live on Monday Night Football as Roethlisberger walked around Heinz Field to say farewell to Steeler Nation: https://youtu.be/m63RkMdS3dk.
Finally, while I never got to watch him play (except through clips), I've always enjoyed Terry Bradshaw as a TV analyst. He's got a big personality. Funny and entertaining. I've enjoyed Cowher's TV work as well.